Storm Surge
by Chirichi916
Summary: Heero and Duo shared something. 'Till the night Heero left without a word. 1x2, smut/lime eventually , fluff, slight Relena bashing likely, romance/angst/humor, puppies...
1. Chapter 1

Ah right, so I've been pretty much dead to the world courtesy of school, but I'm back now!

I know there are people waiting for me to get my ass in gear and post updates on Swimming Upstream (Kakashi/Iruka) AND Kakurenbo (Heero/Duo), and YES I have everything intention of updating BOTH at some point over break, but THIS is not either of those, (Sorry!)

It's just something that was supposed to be a one-shot but then got away from me. Still, I think it'll only drag out for another chapter or so, I never had any intention of it being more than a quick lime, but I'm no good at PWP, so yeah... Now you don't even get lime (in this chapter at least) I swear it'll get smuttier!

Just wanted everyone to know I'm still alive.

Love you all!

-Chi

* * *

The first petaled hues of dawn filtered through the window, soft rosy tendrils caressing gold kissed cheeks. Violet eyes blinked open beneath chestnut bangs. With a soft grunt Duo stretched and started swinging his legs over to get up, only to run into an immovable lump at the foot of his bed.

"Oi! 'Mari! Move your furry butt." He laughed, reaching down to scratch fuzzy golden ears of the shepherd/chow mix. The dog's tail thumped happily as she rolled over and presented the pale fluff of her belly to be scratched. Duo chuckled again as he obliged his 'canine mistress'.

"You're so spoiled Mari, so spoiled." He cooed. "Now c'mon! Get up! Get up! Get off my legs!" The dog hopped down and clicked across the hardwood flooring of Duo's bungalow to the kitchen. Duo smiled and stretched and followed. His faded blue pajama pants riding low on slender hips. Mari barked once at the kitchen door, Duo pushed open the screen to let her into the yard, where she ran her usual rounds around the fence-line as she made her way to "her corner" to do her business.

Duo set the coffee on and was rummaging in the fridge for eggs when a cheerful bark announced Mari's return to the door. Duo let her in and dog scampered to her food bowl, looking at him expectantly with big brown eyes. He laughed and poured a scoop of kibbles in for her before returning to the fridge again. Duo froze, hand on the egg carton at the same time Mari stopped, her head jerking out of her bowl and swiveling in the direction of the front door. She sat down then, and looked over at him with a whine.

_Why the hell isn't she at the door barking?_ He thought to himself. He slipped down the hallway, the dog at his heels, pulling open the door just as his visitor raised his hand to knock.

Duo froze,

"Heero…" he breathed

"Duo." Came the reply

Violet eyes raked over the taller man, the darkly mussed locks had gotten longer since he'd last seen him over 8 months ago, but the militaristic stance remained, the chiseled jawline and olive skin. The flashing cobalt eyes were as deep and blue as he remembered.

"You're… you're back." Duo said finally.

Heero studied the man in front of him. Despite his "softer" lifestyle, the former gundam pilot had kept up on his training. He'd sensed Heero's approach from the walk, and the tanned chest was still more meticulously sculpted then a Greek god. The Chestnut plait, though loose from a night's sleep, hung an inch or so lower than the last time he'd run his fingers through it, but the boyish charm of Duo's face was familiar, and his violet eyes were still blatantly open windows to his soul. Heero smiled to himself. _Those eyes never _could_ tell a lie._

"I uh… I was just about to make breakfast." Duo said moving to the side, "bacon, eggs and coffee. Work for you?"

"Yes," Heero said, stepping through the door, letting his shoulder brush lightly against the bare chest, "thank you."

Mari sat a few feet in front of the kitchen.

"Wow, she's really grown." Heero smiled fondly, "Do you think she remembers me?"

"A little, I think." Duo shrugged, "She didn't bark when we heard you coming. Just sort of looked at me and whined."

Heero nodded and knelt in front of the dog,

"Hey Mari, remember me." He extended a hand, the dog sniffed tentatively, then her tail began to beat against the floor. "How's my girl been?" Heero grinned, moving his hand to ruffle her ears. Mari barked once and flopped against him, begging for a belly rub, her tail drumming a mile a minute.

Duo smiled fondly at the pair, his mind drifting back to the day they'd found her.

~D~

They'd taken a walk along the beach to watch a storm rolling in; a little over a year ago, back when he and Heero had still been together. The surf was already pounding as the darkening clouds raced towards shore. He had spotted her first, a tiny yellow ball, helplessly caught in the roughening seas.

~H~

"There's something out there!" Duo had shouted, "It's a dog!" he'd already kicked off his shoes and been sprinting into the waves before Heero had found what he'd been pointing to.

"Baka!" Heero had cursed, dashing after his partner into the waves. Duo had reached the floundering animal first, his arm wrapping around the puppy and keeping her head above water.

~D~

It had been Heero who had saved them both. Duo smiled wryly at the memory. It had been Heero's superhuman stamina that had gotten the three of them back to shore. Without his help, Duo was certain both he and Mari would have been swept out by that unforgiving sea.

~H~

They'd stumbled back to shore, coughing and sputtering, Duo clutching the puppy to his chest, Heero just desperately clutching Duo as they collapsed in a heap together in the sand.

"Dammit Duo!" Heero panted, spitting out seawater

"We got her!" Duo grinned, violet eyes blazing triumphantly as he sat stroking the waterlogged hairball in his arms.

The urge to smack him for being such a suicidal moron fled and Heero couldn't help but get swept up in the other's smile.

"Baka." He said softly planting a kiss on Duo's forehead. The rain began to fall. "We need to get back to the bungalow before this storm hits."

Duo nodded and let Heero pull him to his feet, they hurried along the deserted beach back to the low, one-story they shared. Heero fetched them towels and after drying and warming the puppy, Duo had managed to coax some warm milk into her.

"I've always wanted a dog!" Duo had grinned from where he sat beside her on the floor. "What'll we call her?"

Heero eyed him skeptically

"Duo, we can't even keep fish alive…"

"But she needs us 'Ro! Just look at her." Heero had looked, and he had melted as the little yellow ball of fluff trundled tail-wagging into his partners lap and flopped down and promptly fallen asleep. "She's just a baby." Duo smiled, stroking the sleeping puppy.

"Mari." Heero sighed, flopping down next to the chestnut haired fool. His arm slid around Duo's shoulders, pulling the other man against his chest, as he reached over to scratch a fuzzy ear.

"Mari." Duo smiled.

"Duo." Heero said softly, the other didn't respond, "Duo."

"Huh! What?" Duo started out of his reverie, "Sorry, I was just remembering-"

"The day Mari washed ashore." Heero finished

"Yeah." Duo smiled sadly,

"Me too." Heero gave Mari's belly one last scratch before he stood,

"Well, I uh… breakfast! Right!" Duo hurried past him into the kitchen. Heero almost reached out to catch the chestnut braid as he slipped past, but hesitated at the last second. Setting his duffel down in the hallway he moved into the bathroom. Duo had finally repainted it, like he'd kept promising he would, but only one towel hung on the rack, where there used to be two. _Why should that hurt? It wasn't like Duo had been expecting him. After all, he'd been gone for almost 9 months, with no word, no reasons, just gone. Flying out the door because Relena had called… _

On a whim, he pulled open the closet, there on the shelf, stacked neatly beside Duo's, his towels. Laundered, folded, just waiting to be used.

"Duo." He breathed softly.

He could hear the other rustling about in the kitchen, so slipped quietly across the hall to the bedroom. The queen sized bed was unmade, rumpled, he could still see the indent from Duo's head on the pillow, and the nest curled in the comforter where Mari had obviously been.

"He's still letting her sleep on the bed." He chuckled.

He glanced towards his nightstand. Duo had obviously dusted, but nothing had really been moved. Everything was the same as he'd left it. Again he moved to the closet, it was the same, his half of the closet was full of his neatly laundered and hung clothes. Right beside Duo's, just waiting to be worn.

He shook his head and moved back down the hallway, but instead of going into the kitchen, he turned into the living room. The pictures he'd placed on the fireplace still remained, his books were still on the shelves, his "Kurt Vonnegut" and "D.H. Lawrence" carelessly mixed together with Duo's "Terry Pratchett" and "Michael Moore"*.

Heero moved to the mantel, picking up a picture he didn't recognize, but in a frame he'd bought for Duo one year for his birthday.

Heero's heart skipped, it was him, playing in the surf with Mari as evening fell. His dark hair hung heavy in his eyes with the salty spray, his tanned arms reached out for the leaping puppy, as they chased each other through the shallows…

He remembered…

The sunset that night had been breathtaking, they'd watched it together, the three of them, from the front porch. It had been perfect.

It had been the night everything had started to fall apart.

Duo made an intentionally heavy footstep, causing Heero to turn. He strode across the room, handing Heero his favorite mug.

"Black, nothing added." He said quietly

"Duo…" Heero started, replacing the picture,

"It's a good picture of Mari, isn't it. She was such a little hairball back then."

"Duo… How… How are you?"

"Right now? Well… I'm a little surprised to have company so early in the morning" Duo joked, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Speaking of which, the eggs're done."

"Right." He followed Duo into the kitchen.

Duo stood over the stove, picking up the spatula to spoon eggs onto a pair of plates. How many times had he watched him like that?

"I finally got the hang of cooking eggs without burning them."* Duo laughed quietly.

Heero didn't think, he just strode across the room, an arm encircling Duo's waist, pulling the tanned frame back against him, while the other hand twirled the chestnut braid around itself. Duo stiffened as Heero's breath ghosted over the back of his neck.

Heero breathed deeply, Duo still used floral scented shampoo, his hair was a mixture of the salty scent of the ocean and lavender. Heero's lips brushed butterfly soft across the sensitive spot at the crook of Duo's neck.

"'Ro…" the other all but whimpered, as he sagged back slightly against the bigger man.

"Koi…" Heero breathed, soaking in Duo's scent again, before he remembered himself and took a stumbling step backwards, leaving Duo to catch himself on the counter.

"Sorry!" Heero mumbled, stumbling into a chair.

"yeah…"

"I uh… I won't be here long." Heero started, stabbing at his eggs, "I'll be out of your hair again in a couple days." _God, how I've missed that hair…_

"Is that so? You could… stay… a little longer… if… if you wanted." Duo's cheeks flushed, he stared at the table. "I think Mari would like it. It seems she remembers you."

Heero smiled and looked down at the dog whose chin was resting on his knee, "Ah, she's always been our baby." He smiled, scratching her ears.

Duo's fork stopped halfway to his mouth, his violet eyes were wide,

"What is it?" Heero half stood, His brow creased in an almost panic-like concern "Are you choking?"

"No?" Duo smiled sadly, "It was just… what you said."

"What did I say?"

"About Mari."

"I said that she's always been…" realization dawned, Duo arched an eyebrow, "I'm sorry, I didn't think, I just…"

Duo looked annoyed

"Why should you be sorry? You loved her didn't you? She WAS _our _baby."

"But I left."

"Really," Duo sneered, "I hadn't noticed."

"Duo, I…"

"We both knew it wouldn't last Heero. That it... that -_we-_ were just a fairy tale. You always were restless staying in one place too long. I knew that. I've always known that."


	2. Chapter 2

Ah well, turns out I lied again, no smut in this chapter either, but I really liked where it ended. (sorry!)

Also the whole *eggs joke- I suck at cooking eggs, it's a sad thing really. Both my boyfriend and my dad are constantly giving me crap about the fact that I CANNOT, TO SAVE MY LIFE, cook eggs properly. I burn them. I don't know why. I'm just BAD at cooking eggs, omelets, scrambled, sunny-side-up, you name it, I can't cook eggs. And I once blew up a hard-boiled egg in the microwave, which was kinda funny actually, plus then I didn't have to eat it (did I mention that I HATE eggs? Love omelets though.) but I digress!

Back to the story!

* * *

"Duo, I…"

"How're those eggs?"

"Duo, I came here to talk to you."

"This is talking isn't it?" Duo said, rising as the timer went off to collect the bacon. He threw half on Heero's plate and scraped the rest onto his own, tossing a piece into his mouth.

"Ah! Hot!" he yelped.

"baka." Heero muttered, rising to follow Duo to the sink.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. Sorry. That was dumb."

"Duo."

Duo dropped the pan in the sink.

"Dammit Duo, look at me!" Heero growled, spinning the other man to face him, "You haven't even asked why I left. Or why I didn't say anything. You just keep wearing that mask and pretending like I'm just another friend who popped in for a visit, when we Both know that isn't true!"

"What do you want Heero? Me to sneak that precious laptop of yours out of the bottom of your duffel and spend the next two hours hacking into it? Maybe I should have gone through all your stuff the night you left, looking for an answer as to why you would leave me? Maybe I should have taken a page out of Relena's handbook and hunted you down, followed you -stalked you, on whatever mission you'd sent yourself on? It's not like it's the first time you've vanished in the night and I've been left to wonder where you've gone, whether or not you'll come back. And really what would any of that have done? Except piss you off and drive you deeper underground. If you wanted to disappear then you'd disappear, there's nothing I- or anyone else can do about that. You're too good. The perfect soldier."

Heero stood in silence,

"At least this time I didn't have to sit and wonder whether or not you were dead." Duo stalked back to the table, and chomped down again on the now, somewhat cooled bacon.

Heero slid in across from him, still at a loss for words.

Mari whimpered from under the table.

Duo suddenly looked guilty, he knelt down, coaxing the dog out with a piece of bacon. "I'm sorry Mari, I didn't mean to raise my voice. It's alright girl, c'mere baby."

The half-shepherd/half-chow adoptee slowly inched her way out from under the table, coaxed by Duo's cooing and the promise of tasty bacon.

"There she is. That's my girl, that's my Mari. Yes, she's a good girl isn't she. Yes she is. Yes she is." He ruffled her ears as she munched on the bacon, her tail began to wag again.

Heero snorted

"That dog always did have you better than trained than any man ever could."

"Listen to that baka, baby. Listen to him getting jealous over my princess."

"What was it you always used to call her, when I'd come home and find her in the bed?"

Duo chuckled "My canine mistress."

"Right." Heero smiled softly,

"She noticed when you left too, you know." Duo said quietly

"What do you mean?"

"She kept going to the door, kept checking your side of the bed, kept sniffing around on the beach, or the front porch, like she was looking for you or something, it was almost three months before she finally gave up."

Heero felt a pang of guilt as he reached down to scratch her ears

"And what about you?" he asked quietly

"What about me Heero?" Duo snorted, chomping on another piece of bacon, not meeting his eyes "You left. I kept going. End of story."

"But it's not the end of the story, is it."

Duo's hand froze halfway to his mouth, his violet eyes narrowed

"Where are you going with this Heero?"

"I just wondered, I didn't see any pictures of anyone else or anything, so I thought maybe…"

"You thought what exactly?"

Violet eyes burned, the anger was evident, but Duo's eyes never lied, and Heero had learned to read them well, too well.

"I thought maybe there might still be a place for me in your life." Heero said softly. "You feed me all this war-training crap, and you're probably right. But don't think you're the only one who's spent years learning to know the other better than they know themselves, because you're not. I survived that war with you the same way you survived beside me, and I've seen your tough-guy mask _before_. The same way I've seen the joker, the same way I've seen the Shinigami. Those eyes of yours _never lie_, Duo Maxwell, so you can just stop pretending that I didn't hurt you and let me try to make this right."

"I never said it didn't hurt. I just said I got one with my life."

"I kept waiting you know," Heero said quietly, "for you to call."

"How could I?" Duo scoffed, "One call from Relena, that was all it took and you were gone. How could I possibly call, knowing I'd never be able to do the same?"

"You don't know that. I was _waiting _for that call!"

"Yes I do Heero, Yes I DO. I know it, because I will never need protecting the way that she does, and I will never be as important to the future of the earth sphere. Relena Dorlian is the _face of peace_… and _me_? I'm the _God of Death_, Heero, I can't compete with her. I can't even begin to compete with her."

"There is no competition." Heero growled, "There never was. Relena's call was a well-timed coincidence, and _nothing more._ I kept waiting for you to tell me it was okay for me to come back That it was alright for me to be beside you again. But you never called. I couldn't take it anymore. I thought about you every day, dreamed about you. I even bullied Quatre into giving me status reports on you after he came to visit you. To let me know how you were doing. I told myself it was enough, that you were here, that you were happier on your own, with your own space. But it wasn't enough… it wasn't enough for me anymore. I had to know, Duo… Do you still…"

"Yes." Duo turned to stare out the kitchen window, "I could never… anyone else… not after you... You were the first… you'll be the last. But you could have called too. And… It doesn't make this right. Doesn't make this better. It doesn't even mean I want you to stay."

Heero studied those violet eyes, and called his bluff,

"Except that you do." He whispered to the table top, Duo pretended not to hear.

"Mari hasn't been for her walk yet." Duo said quietly rising,

"May I… come with you? I've missed her too."

"I can't really tell you 'no', can I? Like you said, she's _our_ baby."

Heero smiled, "yeah…" as Duo went to change into shorts and a T-shirt.

They walked barefoot out the door, Mari bouncing happily in front of them as they made their way down to the beach.

"The eggs were good." Heero said as they stepped onto the course white sand. Mari took off towards the waves, barking happily.

"What?"

"The eggs," Heero smiled, "They were good."

Duo laughed, "I finally learned to put the stove on medium."

Heero chuckled with him "You always were too impatient."

"I was hungry. And I like eggs."

"You like _food_ Duo, that's not the same thing."

"Eggs are food."

"Not the way you used to make them."

Duo laughed, Mari barked from the tide-line, as if to urge them to hurry up.

"Race ya'" Duo grinned, and took off, kicking up sand as he pounded towards the surf. Heero dashed after him. They both knew who would win.

Heero's stride was longer, his legs more powerful.

Duo ran like the death itself was chasing him, his chestnut braid streamed out behind him like a kite-tail.

Mari barked her encouragement as the two former pilots rocketed across the sand. Heero's eyes narrowed as he closed the distance between them, his hand catching Duo's shoulder as he tackled him to the sand. Heero's arms closed around Duo, breaking his fall as they rolled together. Mari barked and jumped playfully, as they came to a stop, Duo on top, still cradled against Heero's chest. The dog jumped back, and Duo yelped as a wave crashed over them.

"So who won." Duo grinned, pushing himself to his knees, and climbing off.

Heero sat up as the next wave splashed to shore,

"Me."

Duo laughed "Bastard."

Mari joined them. Her tail wagging as she collected sand and salt in it.

"Baby, you're going to need a shampoo when we get home." Duo smiled.

"So are you," Heero grinned, picking up Duo's braid from where it rested in the shallows, gathering more salt and sand than the dog.

"The price you pay for living on the beach." Duo smiled, "One of Earth's greatest treasures, beaches, and the sun, the ocean…" Duo looked out wistfully across the sun-dappled waves. "peace…"

******

"Miss Relena, we've located Duo Maxwell."

"Where?"

"It's a small, privately owned island, in the south Pacific."

"Owned by who?"

"Quatre Reberba Winner Ma'am."

Relena shook her head, "I might have known he'd be hiding them."

" 'Them', Ma'am?"

"If Duo's there, then Heero is too. Get me Quatre on the phone."

"Right away Ma'am"


	3. Chapter 3

Hmmm, still waiting on the smut I promised, and for this to be SHORT... hmmm... turns out I'm a pathological liar, sorry guys. I swear I'll get there eventually.

Also, 'cause I don't think I've done a disclaimer yet, I own nothing but these words, and... I'm a college student... studying English literature. So not only am I _currently _poor as dirt, I'll _ALWAYS _be poor as dirt, so don't waste your time.

* * *

Trowa was the one to notice the blinking on the computer, idly strolling over, toothbrush still in his mouth, he hit the button. His visible eye-brow raised

"Relena." He mumbled around his toothbrush, _How the hell had she gotten the number for Quatre's private channel?_

"Good morning Trowa, you're looking… well." Relena couldn't help but appraise the shirtless chest of the tall pilot leaning over the screen.

"Hnn. What's your business?" Trowa asked, his patience already thinned by the girls call. A conversation with Relena was NOT how he'd intended to start his day.

"I need to speak with Quatre."

"About what?" Trowa asked, moving out of the view, Relena could barely hear him spit and the sound of the tap running. Somewhere in the background, a groggy Quatre murmured good morning. Trowa slid languidly back into the chair, but his attention was directed off screen, Relena sighed in annoyance.

While it was true _most_ people fell over themselves to attend to her every whim, Trowa Barton was completely impervious to her. His inattentiveness was second only to Duo Maxwell, who, on top of mostly ignoring everything she said, invented cute 'nicknames' for her to amuse himself.

She watched as Trowa leaned off screen, heard a giggle, and the camera jostled as a similarly shirtless Quatre was pulled into his lap.

"It appears I've procured Quatre," Trowa smirked, "Now state your business."

"Oh my gosh! Is that thing on?"

"Not if you don't want it to be" Trowa started to reach for the disconnect

"Now hang on just a minute!" Relena glared

"Oh, c'mon Tro, it'd be rude to hang up on her." Quatre tried to readjust himself into a more 'dignified' position, but Trowa was having none of it, and kept him firmly cradled in his lap. Quatre sighed, but smiled affectionately at the green eyed giant holding him captive. "Forgive me for my… current apparel." He laughed cheerfully, Trowa smirked,

"I happen to like it."

Quatre giggled again, "Now what is it that has you calling so early in the morning Relena?"

"I'm requesting permission to visit an island of yours." Relena smiled, "I need to speak to Heero and he seems to have disconnected his number."

"Dog got off his leash did he?" Trowa jibed, Quatre sent his lover a cautionary look.

"And what makes you think that Heero'd be on an island of mine?" Quatre asked,

"Because Duo is there." Relena said flatly

Both Quatre and Trowa stiffened, Trowa's eye narrowed, his smirk dissapearing.

"Heero and Duo parted almost 9 months ago, and I can assure you, Miss Dorlian," Quatre's blue eyes were icy, "That they have not been in contact. But you wouldn't know anything about that, now would you."

"I put no restrictions on my employees' communications, Mr. Winner, and I resent such accusations. Now, as the ambassador of the Earth Sphere to the ambassador of Colony L4, I am requesting formal permission to visit one of your holdings."

Trowa's green eye narrowed further, _What is she playing at? Drawing titles into this? Does she mean to force Quatre's hand by making her Heero-stalking a political maneuver? What the hell is wrong with this girl!?_

Quatre's cold glare dropped another few degrees, Relena was playing a dangerous game, dragging around a tender political balance with her petty whims.

"I would ask, Ambassador Dorlian, that you withdraw your _formal_ request, and I will acquiesce to an _informal_ visit."

"Very well then." Relena smiled coyly, "I rescind my formal request and instead ask personally, that I, Relena Dorlian Peacecraft, be granted permission to pay a visit to your island holding in the south pacific."

"Permission granted." Quatre sighed,

Trowa ended the transmission.

"Are you alright love?" Trowa asked softly

"Duo's going to hate me for this."

"Duo wouldn't hate you if you if you shot him in the foot." Trowa smiled, nuzzling the top of the blonde's head, "You're his best friend."

Quatre smiled sadly "He still won't be happy to have her showing up on his doorstep."

"Who says she'll even be able to find his place? She'll turn up in the village, but Duo doesn't live in the village, he lives on the far side of the island and she'll have to hike that fun little dirt path to get there. It's a 4 mile trek. Hardly a Relena-style venture."

"Hmm, that's true." Quatre smiled, "I'd love to see the state of her if she _does_ decide to hoof it."

Trowa smiled, "See? Nothing to worry about, now let's go back to bed, you don't have any meetings until 3 this afternoon."

"I have a meeting at 9:30!"

"Not since I woke up this morning." Trowa grinned. "Your sisters are taking care of it, Ilia was the one most excited about this project anyway."

Quatre smiled "alright."

***

Heero lounged against the bathroom door, inside he could Duo laughing as he and Mari shared the shower. His mind drifted back to before he'd left, to the days when it had been all three of them, standing in the bathtub, washing the sand out of Duo's impossible tangle, and the puppy's thick fur.

~H~

"Hey 'Ro, gimme some of that shampoo would ya'?"

"Hnn."

Heero glanced down at his partner, kneeling naked in the bathtub, wrestling with the squirming puppy in his lap. Duo's smile was brilliant as he cooed at the little golden dog, who whined and whimpered under the 'onslaught' of the 'fearsome' shower.

"Ah, here we go! Here we go! There's a good girl! You'll smell just like me!" Duo grinned, rubbing the lavender scented shampoo over her. Mari's tail began to wag as Duo's fingers gently massaged the soap through her fur. Heero squirted some of the shampoo into his own hand and knelt to begin massaging the chestnut scalp before him.

Duo leaned back against his chest

"Mmmm 'Ro… feels good."

Heero chuckled, "That's probably what she's thinking."

Duo grinned, and let Heero work the shampoo through his hair. When they'd all finished rinsing, they clambered out. Mari barked and wiggled excitedly beneath the towel Heero dropped on top of her. Duo laughed, and together they began to rub her dry.

***

"Gah! Mari!" Duo's yelp echoed from the bathroom, with a crash, Heero threw open the door. Mari had her towel in her mouth and her butt up in the air as she wagged her tail, a hapless Duo clung to the other end, pleasantly naked, and still dripping wet. Heero leaned against the doorframe and smiled appreciatively.

"Are you gonna gawk, or are you gonna help?" Duo glared, but his violet eyes lacked heat. Heero pushed himself off the door frame as Duo pulled his towel back around his waist and together they cornered Mari and began rubbing vigorously. The dog growled playfully and tried to bite the towel as they rubbed her down.

"She always did love this game." Duo snorted

Heero grinned, "Warning: Puppies, slippery when wet."

Duo laughed, just as Mari darted for her escape, shoving him off balance and sprawling into Heero's lap.

"This is the second time I've had you in my arms this morning, Duo Maxwell. I think perhaps she's trying to tell us something."

"Stop it Heero. I'm not taking dating advice from a dog." He tried to push away, but Heero's arms held him fast. "Let me go, Heero."

"No." Heero said quietly, lowering his head to whisper into Duo's ear "Not this time."

Duo stiffened, but Heero pulled him closer. A tanned hand sliding down Duo's back, causing him to shiver.

"Cold?"

"No."

"Duo…"

"Stop it Heero, please. I'm..."

"I know. But I missed you." Heero breathed deeply of the familiar scent of Duo's shampoo, "God, how I missed you."

Duo sighed, "I missed you too 'Ro, but I'm still mad and you're…"

"I'm what?"

"You're making it really _hard_ to stay mad at you."

Heero chuckled

"Baka. I don't _want_ you to stay mad at me."

"You were gone for over 8 months, almost 9! I'm allowed to be mad." Duo pouted

"I know. But I need you Duo...You… you make me human."

"'Ro?" Worried violet eyes met cobalt, Heero's hand moved to cup the chestnut framed cheek, as his head bent forward, catching Duo's full lips beneath his own.

He'd expected Duo's fist to slam into the side of his head, he'd expected him to protest, he'd expected… something… something that wasn't Duo yielding. The pliable mouth trapped beneath his lips responded, gently pressing back, tilting to fit together just that much more tightly, and pulling away only after Heero himself started to pull back.

Duo stared at the floor.

"Duo?"

"Shut it. I'm dripping wet, I'm naked, and I'm starting to get cold. Now get out and let me dry off."

"I…"

"Out! We can pick this up again _after_ I'm dressed."

"Right." Heero rose, pulling Duo to his feet, then left in search of Mari.

He found her chewing on a favorite toy on a rug in the bedroom. It was a pink rubber cat Duo had, for reasons known only to himself, named 'Mr. Binky'. Mr. Binky had been replaced 4 times in the time that Heero, Duo and Mari had been a family. As he looked over it now, it appeared the young dog was on yet another incarnation of Mr. Binky. He idly wondered just how many she'd been through in the months that he'd been gone. In the corner, the vid screen was blinking.

Heero strolled over and flipped it on. Quatre's startled eyes stared out at him,

"Heero!?"

"Hello Quatre."

"Heero's there?" he heard Trowa in the background, the green eyed brunette leaned into view. "Heero."

"Hello Trowa."

"Hello." The slender giant replied before moving off-screen again

"Why are you there?" Quatre stammered

"I came to see Duo."

Quatre smiled sadly, "How are things going?"

Heero sighed "He doesn't trust me. He's just smiling through a mask, pretending that he doesn't hurt."

"Those eyes of his never lie." Trowa's voice came from off-screen

"I know."

"He still loves you." Quatre said softly

"I know that too. So does he, but it's hard… I never should have left him."

"You thought it was for the best." Quatre said softly

"Did I? Or was I just running away from my emotions?"

"Heero…"

"Sorry. I'm here until he throws me out this time. And he'll have to kill me to do that."

"Better not tempt him." Trowa chuckled, still off screen

"Trowa." Quatre scolded, then turned back to the screen "Good luck Heero. We'll talk to you again soon."

"Affirmative." Heero smiled, and clicked off the connection.

He glanced down at Mari again, and then bent to steal her toy.

"Ah! Who's got Mr. Binky now!" He grinned, Mari was on her feet in an instant, circling till she found an opening to reclaim her pink cat. Heero let her catch a leg, inducing a game of tug-of-war over the abused toy. "Oh ho! Mr. Binky's mine Mari! Mr. Binky's mine!"

Mari growled happily, before jerking suddenly, pulling the pilot off balance, Duo walked into the bedroom, his hair back in its customary braid, to find his ex-lover sprawled on floor being 'ferociously' attacked by their dog.

"Mari, it tickles!" Heero gasped, curling into a ball as the dog nuzzled and nipped at his ear. Duo chuckled from the doorway, Heero sat up. His face drawing serious, Duo almost doubled over, Heero's normally mussed hair sported several ridiculous cow licks, thanks to the dogs attentions.

Without thinking, Duo crossed the room to plant a kiss on Heero's forehead, then reached over to scratch Mari's ears. "You sure showed him, huh girl? Yes you did! Yes you did! You showed that Heero who Mr. Binky belongs to!"

Heero laughed, pulling Duo into his lap. Mari nuzzled against them, her furry head resting in Duo's lap.

Duo sighed contentedly,

"Is this what you meant by continuing where we left off?" Heero asked softly

Duo stiffened

"No. It's not. I meant to punch you in the face."

"I assumed as much. You still have that option."

Duo snorted "Hardly. I'm too comfortable to waste the effort right now. I'll break your jaw later."

Heero chuckled, his breath warm on Duo's neck, "I'll be waiting."

"This… it feels good 'Ro… to have you back… Not that I'm saying you can stay."

"Of course."

Duo sighed, almost dejectedly, "I missed you."

Heero tightened his hold "I missed you too."

They sat in silence several minutes, Heero's arms around Duo, as the latter scratched the fuzzy ears lying across his lap. Mari's tail thumped out a slow rhythm on the hard-wood floor.

"Quatre called." Heero said finally

"Yeah? What'd he want?"

Heero sat a little straighter, "He… He didn't say?"

"Huh? That's odd, he usually calls to invite me out for something, or to make sure I'm boarding up before a storm is due."

Heero chuckled, Quatre always had been like a mother hen when it came to keeping track of Duo.

"There's a shin-dig in the village tonight." Duo said quietly, "Nothing fancy, shorts and flip-flops affair, dancing, bonfire, barbeque, local bands, you know, that sort of thing. I've been thinking about going."

"Sounds like a good time." Heero said quietly, "We should go."

"You hate people… and dancing."

"I don't hate people… and I'm just… not good at dancing. But for a date with you…" Heero planted a kiss on the top of Duo's head, "I think I could bear it."

Duo's eyes lit up and genuine smile spread across his face,

"Thanks 'Ro. A date it is then."

Heero felt his heart soar.

***

"Miss Relena, are you sure it's wise to arrive on an unknown island after dark?"

"It's fine. Besides, I hear the locals are having a party tonight, to commemorate the end of the war, it might be fun!"

****

In case I don't post tomorrow, Merry Christmas my darlings!


	4. Chapter 4

Oh my gosh, you lucky darlings you! Look I'm updating again! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

None of you will even be on here to read this today, because you'll all be too busy playing with your new toys, but you know what, so will I!!! Yay!

But yes, sooo....

This chapter is CRAZY long! It just kept going! I was totally on a roll! I think it's the longest I've ever done! Yikes!

Well, for whenever you DO get to it,

ENJOY!!

* * *

Heero and Duo began the trek across the island just before the sky began to redden. Mari's leash was tucked into one of Duo's many pockets.

"Are you going to put her on the lead when we reach town?" Heero asked, matching his stride to Duo's.

"Not if I don't have to. I hate putting it on her. It's like she's a prisoner."

Heero nodded sympathetically, neither of them were fond of using the leash, though they had trained Mari with it when she was puppy.

"She's so well behaved, and everyone knows her, I don't think we'll need it." Heero tried to reassure, if only to wipe the troubled look from Duo's face.

"Yeah. But it is a party night, she might get excited and steal someone's hot dog or something."

Heero laughed, "Only you and Mari can eat those awful things."

Duo chuckled lightly  
"Nothing like a good hot dog with everything on it!"

Heero studied the man beside him. Duo was still wearing a mask, still hiding the hurt, but he was trying. That was enough… for now, Heero decided.

He moved on to appraising his companion. Duo wore a fitted black-T with the sleeves cut off over a pair of army-green cargo shorts and flip flops. Looped around his wrist was knotted hemp bracelet with a shell strung on it that Heero had bought for him two years ago; just after they'd taken up Quatre's offer to move to the island.

But Heero wasn't the only one checking out his traveling companion. Duo glanced over, Heero wore his blue button-down shirt undone over a white T-shirt that stretched tightly over his broad chest, and a pair of khaki bermudas, his black sandals were velcro strap-ons. Duo smiled to himself, Heero never had been comfortable in something as unreliable as a pair of $10 flip-flops.

"Enjoying the view?" Heero snickered, catching Duo throwing him another side-ways glance.

"I could ask you the same." Duo huffed, flipping his braid over his shoulder and pretending to stalk away.

Heero caught his wrist, then slid his hand down to twine his fingers between Duo's. It was then Duo noticed Heero was wearing the bracelet that partnered his. Heero grinned and pulled up their hands to let the long haired pilot confirm with his eyes what he already knew.

"Who said you could hold my hand?" Duo asked, cocking an eyebrow

"You're the one who said it was a date." Heero smirked, planting a kiss on the tanned knuckles

"Hnn… maybe I did. But you'll have to do better than a kiss on the hand if you want to woo _me_, Heero Yuy."

"Mission accepted" Heero grinned, driving Duo's back against a tree and plundering the former Deathscythe pilot's mouth with his tongue.

Duo's breath hitched, then he began to battle back, deepening the kiss. Heero moaned slightly as he pressed closer against Duo, his hand sliding beneath the fabric of the shirt to dance across sun-kissed skin. Duo's hands had begun an exploration of their own, sliding down onto Heero's hips as he pulled the other pilot tighter against him.

Mari sat a few feet up the path, waiting with the patience that only a dog or Buddha could muster.

"We'll never make it to that party if we don't stop now Duo…"Heero panted, breaking for air. "Then again, I could always just take you right here." His mouth closed on a sensitive spot at the crook of Duo's neck.

"Fucking on the first date huh? What kind of guy do you take me for?" Duo's glare vanished as he added, "plus, sex on the beach isn't all it's cracked up to be." He wrinkled his nose in distaste, "You end up with sand in all the wrong places, remember?"

Heero laughed. "How could I forget? You complained for _days_."

"It wasn't funny." Duo let Heero pull him back onto the path and they resumed their trek towards the village.

"It was a little."

"Yeah well, you weren't the one with an ass-crack full of sand." Duo pouted.

Heero burst into laughter. It echoed out, clear and crisp across the sparsely populated island. Duo smiled, of all the people he went out of his way to amuse, making Heero laugh was the most rewarding.

***  
Relena studied the small water skimmer cautiously.

"We're really flying out to the island in _that?"_

"There's no air-field on the island, Marm'" smiled the pilot, a deeply tanned man in his late 50's. "It's the skimmer here, or a boat. But the boat'll take almost 6 hours to get ya' there, and by then you'll have missed most of the party."

"How long is this flight expected to take?"

"About an hour, we should be there just before the sun sets."

Relena nodded, "Very well then. Coming Dorothy?"

***  
Heero and Duo completed the 4 mile hike in a little under an hour, and now strolled the boardwalk that ran along a good portion of the islands eastern shoreline. And along which all commerce in the village centered.

"Duo!" an old woman called out from a stand, "Come to enjoy the party have you… and Heero? Bless my soul is that really you Heero!?"

"Affirmative."

Duo jabbed him with an elbow

"Well hook my lip and call me a catfish! Hey Reg! Reginald come out here! Heero's back!"

An old man poked his head out

"Well I'll be damned! My favorite queers! It's good to see you boys back together."

"We're not exactly…" Duo started

"Thank you." Heero interrupted

"Ah, we all thought you'd lost your mind, leaving a catch like Duo behind." Maggie cackled, "All the girls were just tripping over themselves trying to make him feel better. Some of the lads too." She laughed

Heero raised an eyebrow,

"Duo hasn't mentioned any of that…"

"Didn't really have the time to…" Duo muttered. "And it was a bit… embarrassing really."

"Well, some of them'll be sore you're back and the rest'll just be glad to have two of you to chase after again." Maggie grinned, "Ah! Before you head off down to bonfire I've got something for Mari!" she disappeared for a few moments before coming back with a piece of sausage. "Here you go girl!"

"Thanks a lot Maggie." Duo grinned, Mari chomped happily as the trio resumed their stroll. They made their way down the boardwalk to the islands main beach and slipping out of their shoes headed off across the sand to join the large crowd already gathering. An impromptu stage had been set up and a band was already in full swing.

"Hey look! Someone's flying in" Duo pointed as a skimmer came in for its descent. "C'mon Hee-chan, let's dance! Be a good girl Mari!" Duo called, the dog obediently sat just outside the area the dancers occupied, guarding the ex-pilots' shoes.

Duo drug Heero to the center of the dancers,

"Alright Heero, I got you on the floor, now impress me" the band played a groovy swing-style jazz.

Heero cocked an eyebrow "Mission- accepted."

The other dancers slowly began to open the space around them as Heero began to lead Duo through a fast paced swing.

***

"C'mon Dorothy! Pick up the pace! Something's going on over there!" Relena drug the platinum blonde along behind her. The two wiggled their way through the crowd to stand at the edge of the circle. Relena's jaw dropped.

"Wow." Dorothy breathed, "Duo I expected… but… I had no idea Heero could dance like that…"

***

The crowd was completely focused on the pair spinning in the center, and as one song ended the band went straight into the next. Heero flipped Duo over his back, the chestnut haired pilot landed lightly on his feet as their hands reconnected and Heero spun him into a 'wheel'. Their eyes locked as they flew through the quick choreography, the rest of the world falling away as they were swept completely into the rhythm of the dance. Heero snapped Duo into a dip as the song ended and they froze a moment, eyes locked, both breathing heavily, sweat collecting on their brows, Duo's smile was completely unfettered as his violet eyes danced in front of Heero. Heero slowly pulled him back up, matching Duo's smile with his own, his arm slid possessively around his partner as the cheering crowd closed in.

"I'm gonna go grab us a couple snow cones before the fireworks start!" Duo beamed, planting a kiss on Heero's cheek before wiggling his way out of the throng that had reclaimed the sand in front of the stage. Mari trotted after him as he made his way towards a stand set up a little farther along the beach.

Relena, Dorothy in tow, shouldered her way through the crowd to where Heero had gone to sit beside his shoes.

"Heero!" She squeeled, "I had no idea you knew how to dance like that!"

"It was very impressive!" Dorothy agreed, then glancing around "Where'd Duo go?"

"Will you dance like that with me now?"

"Why the hell are you here?" Heero growled

"We…"

" Heard there was going to be a beach party" Dorothy covered quickly

"This island is property of the Winner Coorporation."

"And I have Quatre's express permission to be here." Relena smiled smugly, then turned back on the charm, "Oh please Heero, Duo's wandered off, come dance with me till he gets back."

"I don't dance."

"What are you talking about? I just watched you. You were amazing!"

"I… it's not me, it's Duo. Duo dances."

"Told you." Chimed Dorothy

"Heero, you were definitely leading, now come on, before he gets back. Let's dance."

"No."

"Please Heero! Please! I know you can dance now! You've never danced like that with me! I want to try it!"

"No."

"Oh please Heero!" she whined, clutching his shirt

"Only with…" Mari's bark alerted him that something was wrong, he glanced up just in time to see a chestnut braid fleeing into the shadows. "Duo!"

Heero deftly twisted out of his shirt, leaving the blue button-down empty in Relena's hands as he took after Duo, following the sound of Mari's barking.

"He's not getting away that easily." Relena growled, pulling off her shoes and tossing them next to pairs abandoned by Duo and Heero. "C'mon Dorothy."

"Oh… shit." Dorothy grumbled but ditched her shoes as well and the two girls took off after Heero. _This is BEYOND stupid…_ Dorothy thought to herself _the two of us are NEVER going to be able to outrun a Gundam pilot, let alone Heero Yuy…_

***

Mari's barking led Heero as the gathering clouds began blocking out the moonlight. Heero might be the faster runner, but no one could blend into the shadows like Duo. _Dammit Duo! You didn't even give me the chance to explain! I didn't invite her here! I didn't even know she was coming!_

They were coming up on a rocky cove, the most dangerous landform on the entire island, and here at low tide, more of the treacherously slippery rocks were exposed. Mari barked again, more distant now, Heero was losing ground on them as he picked his way over the slippery surface. Back on the sand, he sped up again, pumping harder to make up for lost ground. Running the circumference the way they were, it'd be just over 6 miles back to the bungalow, if Duo stopped there. Heero had a feeling he wouldn't.

When Duo was upset he needed to move, and move he would. He'd run the entire islands circumference and keep running till he dropped if that's what it took to clear his head. Heero wanted to catch him before that, if his hunch about Duo's train of thought was right, and when it came to what Duo was thinking, Heero was always right, then everything they'd started to rebuild was over.

_Dammit! Why the hell did she have to show up here of all places! I'm not letting him go a second time!_ Heero came around a large boulder and caught sight of Duo, Mari keeping the desperate pace beside him. Heero put on an extra burst of speed and tackled him to the ground.

"Dammit!" he panted "Don't… don't fucking… run away from me…"

"Get… off…" Duo growled, trying and failing to hold back his tears, "Yuy… you… Bastard!" Duo's fist connected with the side of his head, Heero rolled sideways, stars flashing before his eyes, even so he came up on his feet "Don't… fucking… touch me!" Duo heaved as he too rolled to his feet.

Mari whimpered and barked nervously.

"Just… get away from me Heero. Go back, your _princess_ is waiting."

"I don't give a damn _who's_ waiting. I came running after _you_ didn't I?"

"Just to save face."

"Save face? What's that even supposed to mean!? God dammit Duo! When have I ever cared about 'saving face'? I used to shoot people for a living, remember?"

Duo was silent,

"It looks like there's a storm rolling in, lets just go home, okay?" Heero put a hand on Duo's slumped shoulder, Mari whined and licked 02's fingertips.

"What do you think Mari?" Duo asked, jerking his head at Heero, "Should we let this bastard follow us home?"

Mari barked and spun in a circle, Duo sighed,

"Lets move it then, these squalls come up fast. Home Mari." Duo snapped his fingers once. The dog took off at a steady trot in front of them. Duo and Heero jogged silently behind her. They stomped up the porch and through the front door before Heero stopped and cursed,

"What is it?" Duo asked,

"We left our shoes down by the stage!"

***

"Miss Relena, I don't think this is such a good idea! The moon's gone behind the clouds, we don't know where we're going, it's totally dark, and we've completely lost Heero!"

"Stop whining Dorothy! Our cell-phones will work as flashlights! Now c'mon, he went this way!"

They reached the rocks,

"This is _definitely _not a good idea…" Dorothy moaned

"Oh come on! We'll be fine! If anything happens, Heero'll come."

"Why the hell would Heero come? He probably doesn't even know we were chasing him!"

"Oh he knows. He's just being stubborn. And he probably feels bad that Duo's being such a baby about all this. He really is _such_ a sweetheart."

Dorothy rolled her eyes _Sweetheart? Really? Heero Yuy is many things, but a 'sweetheart' isn't one of them!!_

"Don't roll your eyes at me."

"You can't even see my eyes."

"I can feel it when someone rolls their eyes at me. Now c'mon, we've just got to get over these rocks."

Relena began picking her way across,

"Oh eww, they're slimy!"

"Great." Dorothy muttered as she began to follow.

The wind had been picking up and the first of the storm surges sent a wave sweeping up at the two hapless blondes, sucking them both out towards open water.

Dorothy heard Relena scream as she struggling to gain purchase on a slick rocks and began scrabbling inland. Her feet touching sand she turned around

"RELENA!!"

"DOROTHY!"

"RELENA! WHERE ARE YOU!"

"I'M… I'M ON A ROCK!! DOROTHY GET HEERO! I CAN'T GET BACK! THE WATERS RISING!!"

"WHAT!? I CAN'T JUST LEAVE YOU!!"

"YOU CAN'T SAVE ME YOURSELF! GET HEERO! PLEASE DOROTHY! HURRY!"

"HANG ON!" Dorothy shouted back, before turning and sprinting for all she was worth along the beach. The wind continued to rise.

***

Duo climbed into bed, reluctantly nodding his acquiescence to Heero's unspoken request to join him. Regardless of his mood, it didn't feel right to make Heero sleep on the couch. Not after all they'd gone through together. Heero slid in beside him, careful at first, not to touch him. But when Duo slid closer to allow room for Mari to join them on the bed, Heero let a hand drift over to rest on his former lovers hip. Duo didn't pull away. They'd just started to doze off when Mari exploded into barking and raced towards the front door.

"What the hell!?" Duo sprang up, "She never does that!" He raced after her, leaving Heero sitting stunned and slightly startled in the bed.

Duo threw open the front door and Mari tore out across the sand racing down the beach.

"Mari!" Duo sprinted after her. Half a mile later found him running down an exhausted and panicked Dorothy

"Dorothy!?"

"Duo!" The girl dropped to her knees, "Relena… she's… the rocks… can't… shore…"

"I got it, go to the house, Mari'll take you, tell Heero what's happened, I'll get Relena. Mari Home!" he ordered, and took off towards the rocks.

Mari whined a moment, and barked once before licking Dorothy's hand and dashing a few feet back towards the house, only to turn in a circle and whine at the exhausted girls stumbling progress.

Heero met them part way, Mari dashed to him, barking and whining.

"Mari! Where's Duo? Dorothy!?" he caught the girl by the shoulder, she was shaking and crying, as he led her helplessly back to the house, and draped a towel on her and set her at the kitchen table. It took him several more frustrating minutes before he was able to get anything coherent out of her.

His blood ran cold when he finally pieced together what had happened.

"Mari stay!" he ordered, dashing out the door.

Mari whined, looked at Dorothy, and whined again, but remained where she was.

***

"RELENA!" Duo shouted above the waves

"HERE!" she screamed back.

The first flash of distant lightning lit up the area enough for him to spot her, clinging to a rock jutting up above the water.

"Fuck." He hissed, but struck out anyway, going on memory where the more dangerous areas were as he tried avoid letting the waves smash him against anything. It was several long, tense minutes before he reached her. His lungs burned and his arms and legs were exhausted. All the running beforehand had taken its toll, and the roughening sea wasn't going to cut him any slack.

"Oh my god Heero!" Relena sobbed as he reached her.

"Sorry." He panted, "just me."

"D…Duo!?"

"The one and only. Excuse me Princess." He wrapped his arm around her torso, just under her arms, keeping her tight against his chest so she wouldn't be able to turn around and cling to him if she freaked out, effectively drowning them both. But then, with his luck, they were both going to drown anyway.

"Here we go." He grimaced as the wave hit and swept them from the rock. Duo struck out sideways to parallel the sand, trying to put as much distance between them and the rocks as possible. He'd almost cleared them when a large wave crashed over them, he twisted in the water to shield Relena from the rock he _knew_ was there. He felt his shoulder rip with the impact. His scream tore from his throat and echoed out across the water. Relena felt his hold on her fall away.

"DUO!?" she started to panic

"Keep it together! Swim WITH the current, towards the sand!" Duo yelled, and shoved her in the direction they'd been going, and safely clear of the rocks. Relena struck out, almost blindly, the waves washing her inland till her feet touched in the shallows, she cried out in relief, then in panic as she felt the undertow pulling her back out to sea. Then strong arms were clamped around her and Heero was dragging her onto shore.

Relena dropped to her knees.

"Where's Duo!?"

Relena sat sobbing, Heero grabbed her shoulders, yanking her to her feet and shaking her roughly

"WHERE'S DUO!?"

"I… I don't know!" Relena sobbed, "We hit a rock, he let go of me, pushed me away! He pushed me away! He left me on my own!"

Heero wasn't listening

"Duo!" he screamed starting towards the water, Relena clamped onto his arm, pulling him back "Don't! Heero it's too dangerous!"

Heero whirled, his hand closing around the girls throat "So it's not too dangerous for Duo to jump in and save you, but when it's _his_ life at stake!"

"He's a soldier…" She choked "He can take care of himself..."

Heero released her, his mind flashing back to breakfast, it felt so long ago now,

"'_I know it, because I will never need protecting the way that she does'"_

Heero swallowed hard and turned back towards the waves, Relena clung desperately to the back of his shirt "DUO!!" he screamed, "DUO!!"over and over to the rising surf. Relena sobbed helplessly against his back. Another flash of lightning showed something washing up on shore farther down the beach, something dark. Heero ripped out of Relena's hands, dashing forward, as Duo, coughing and sputtering, pushed himself to his knees.

"Duo! Thank god! Duo!" Heero dropped beside him.

"Hey 'Ro." Duo coughed, "Do me a favor… my left shoulder… think it's dislocated."

Heero nodded, Duo sat back on his heels and took a deep breath.

"Ready?" Heero asked, bracing his hands

"Go." Duo nodded

Heero wrenched his shoulder back into place with a sickening *pop*, Duo swallowed his scream, letting Heero catch him as he pitched forward.

When the waves of mind-numbing pain had passed he sat back up.

"Thanks." He panted

"Duo…" Heero's voice was strangely choked, Duo was concentrating so hard on it, he barely heard as a sniffling Relena shuffled up.

"'Ro?"

"God dammit Duo."

"Are you crying?"

Relena froze, her Heero did NOT cry. Ever. Even when she wanted him to.

"'Ro?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Heero roared, "Baka! Are you suicidal!"

"Hey! Princess there was gonna drown!" Duo yelled back

"Then you should have let her!"

"You don't mean that." Duo hissed, "He doesn't mean that Princess," he assured her "we all know he doesn't mean it."

"Like hell I don't mean it!" Heero whirled on Relena, "If you ever, EVER put him in that kind of danger again, I swear I'll kill you myself!"

"Hey! Heero! Chill out man! She's had enough tonight! And it's not like I haven't been in danger before. I was a Gundam pilot too you know! I shouldn't have survived that war any more than you!"

"But you did!"

"That's right! So give me some credit!"

"You were supposed to be SAFE after the war ended! Safe Duo! Not being bashed to pieces on rocks because some dumb bitch can't understand it when I tell her 'NO'!"

They stood in silence for a few moments, with only the wind and waves and Relena's soft sobbing.

"Lets go home, Heero. Relena's freezing, Dorothy's probably gone out of her mind by now, and I'm sure Mari's going stir-crazy. She hates being left alone with strangers."

The hike back to the bungalow was slow going, and Duo's shoulder throbbed mercilessly. Heero kept an arm wrapped around his waist the entire time, while Relena stumbled dejectedly behind them. Mari barked excitedly from the porch, jumping and whining, but Heero's "stay" command kept her from leaving the porch to meet them. Dorothy cried in relief as Relena stumbled quickly to the door.

Mari licked Duo's hand as Heero guided him up the stairs.

"Hey Mari, were you good while I was gone? I bet you were! I bet you were!"

***

An hour later, Duo had organized the dispersal of towels and a change of clothes for the girls. And after a cup of hot tea had been given to everyone, he'd insisted that the girls take the bed.

Heero fluffed a couple throw pillows, and then pulled Duo close against him as they settled onto the couch. Mari curled up on the floor beneath them.

Duo's painkillers had finally kicked in, and with the adrenaline drained from their systems, both pilots fell quickly asleep.

***

"You know…" Dorothy said, as she and Relena settled into the bed, "I don't think you really give Duo enough credit. He's the one being nice here, I think Heero'd rather kill us."

"My Heero would never think something like that!" Relena snapped, but she couldn't keep her mind from wandering back to earlier

_"Princess there was gonna drown!"_

_ "Then you should have let her!"_

_He didn't mean that!_ She told herself, _He didn't mean that!_


	5. Chapter 5

And so the story that was supposed to be short, smutty and a one-shot continues… Just goes to show I have no idea what I'm doing!

***

Heero woke to sound of someone padding softly into the kitchen, he was instantly on alert, till he recognized the glimpse of platinum blonde in the hallway, _Dorothy? _The memories of the night before come flooding back.

He relaxed, enjoying the weight of Duo held against his chest. He kissed him softly on the top of the head, and let his own fall back to the couch arm, the lull of sleep tempting him once more. He heard Relena making her way to the kitchen, and began pretending that much harder to still be asleep, if only to avoid having to face the girl for a few more minutes.

He felt the change in Duo's breathing that signaled the other pilot had come awake, but Duo didn't move either. Heero smiled, and pulled him slightly tighter.

"Good morning Miss Relena" Dorothy's voice echoed from the kitchen

"Good morning Dorothy. Have you seen Heero yet?"

"He's still asleep I think, I haven't seen or heard from Duo yet either. It was a rather rough night."

Two pairs of footsteps moved towards the living room.

"Wow." Dorothy mumbled "I've never seen Heero that close to anyone he wasn't about to kill."

"Hee-…Heero and I have slept together!" Relena huffed,

Heero felt Duo stiffen.

"_You_ sleeping in the bed and _him_ sitting in the chair by the door all night is _not_ the same thing as spooning on an oversized loveseat!" Dorothy scoffed

Heero could sense the grin trying to spread itself across Duo's features.

"Oh shut up Dorothy." Relena huffed, "There's just no way that my Heero is…"

"Gay? Queer? Bender? Into _men_? Ooh, maybe literally?"

It was Heero's turn to stiffen…it wasn't that he liked _men_… But then, it wasn't as if he liked women either… it was just… _Duo_.

_Only_ Duo.

"Don't be crass." Relena growled, "There's no way he'd…"

"Can't really blame him I guess. I mean, I'm pretty sure you were at that little tea party when Duo was voted most-fuckable of the five of them."

"I _WAS_ there, and I still disagree. You, Hilde and Sally are completely out your minds."

"We weren't saying we wouldn't all _love_ to be screwed by Heero, though I think Sally's got a thing for Wufei, it's just... you can have a conversation with Duo without feeling like it's an interrogation, and that hair! Agh! Don't you just want to tangle your fingers in it, and that ass…"

"We can hear you," Duo interrupted. He cracked open an eye, then added, "just so you know" as an afterthought and resumed 'pretending to be asleep'.

"Have you been awake this entire time!?" Relena squeaked,

"Affirmative." Heero answered without opening his eyes.

"I…"

"Oh let them be." Dorothy sighed, "Duo I'm hungry. Do you have any bread?"

"In the drawer to the right of the oven."

"Thanks. C'mon Lena, lets make toast."

"They were… they were eavesdropping on us!" Relena stuttered

"Hey _you_ walked in _here_ princess. We were forced to overhear!" Duo called after them from his place on the couch next to Heero.

"The nerve." He heard Relena grumbled

Heero chuckled and nibbled on his ear. Duo squirmed, "That tickles 'Ro!"

"Good."

"You're just messing with me 'cause you're jealous."

"Jealous of what?"

"Jealous 'cause _I'm_ the most fuckable."

"Agreed." Heero continued to victimize Duo's ear.

"'Ro!" Duo squirmed, the perfect curve of his ass brushing against Heero's crotch. Heero bit down slightly harder on Duo's molested ear as his blood went rushing south. He wasn't the only one who noticed.

Violet eyes narrowed,

"Most fuckable..." Duo smirked, grinding against the other again. Heero growled,

"Don't tempt me."

"That would be bad manners," Duo moved again, "screwing right here with the girls just across the hall in the kitchen."

"Problem solved." Heero scooped up Duo, tossing the only slightly smaller man over his shoulder and marching to the bedroom.

Dorothy raised an eyebrow at Relena as the bedroom door slammed shut and they heard Duo yelp as Heero tossed him to the bed.

"Oh no they're not!" Relena hissed dashing towards the bedroom door, "Heero! Heero!"

"Oh no you don't!" Dorothy growled, grabbing her toast and charging after the other blonde. She caught Relena just before she reached the door. "No way Lena, let them be!"

"But they're…"

"Screwing like rabbits? Dear god I hope so! C'mon, I bet they forgot to close the shades." Dorothy dashed back through the kitchen and out into the garden, dragging Relena with her, Mari followed behind them.

"Dorothy! Just what exactly are we doing!?"

"Urg! Shut up Relena!" Dorothy whirled, "Look, we're on a tropical island, sun, sand and sweaty boys, the ultimate vacation! And I'm going to _enjoy_ it as a fucking vacation! Now you drug me away from a beach party last night and almost got us both killed, today… Today we're doing what _I_ want, and _I_ want to see what's going on behind bedroom door number 1, got it?" Dorothy let out a long breath

"What _exactly _do you mean?" Relena glared

"What do you think? We're going to spy on them of course." Dorothy hissed, "God you're dim sometimes. Now shut up or they'll hear us."

Dorothy and Relena snuck around the corner towards the bedroom window.

"There's _no way_ the two of _us_ will ever be able to 'sneak up' on a pair of gundam pilots!" Relena hissed.

"I'm banking on the fact that they'll be preoccupied." Dorothy grinned "But it'd help a lot if you'd shut your trap!"

The two girls made their way to the window in time to watch Heero pull the hair band out of a naked Duo's braid, violet eyes were heavily lidded as he shook out his chestnut tresses, and brought Heero's lips crashing against his own.

Dorothy sagged slightly against the wall. Even Relena found herself staring,

"See? Most fuckable." Dorothy breathed,

"Shut up. I was just wondering… what kind of product he uses to keep his hair in that condition. That's all."

"Whatever. You'd totally join them if they'd let you."

"Which they wouldn't." Relena scowled

Dorothy snickered.

***

"C'mon Tro! I can see the house from here!" Quatre laughed brightly, stepping out of the trees into the sun and squinting down past the fence that surrounded Duo's yard. Trowa almost stumbled as he skidded to a halt behind Quatre's abrupt stop.

"Hey Tro?"

"Yes?"

"Do you see what I see?" Quatre pointed

"A pair of peeping toms outside… Duo's bedroom window?!"

"Hmm…"

"Perhaps we should see what they're up to." Trowa smirked, reveling in the idea of gaining some leverage over a certain pushy politician.

Quatre grinned and the two were down the hill and over the fence in an instant.

Mari recognized Quatre as soon as he hit the ground, she barked once happily and dashed to greet him.

Relena and Dorothy whirled, both blondes stood like children who'd been caught raiding the cookie jar on either side of the window.

"And what exactly do we have here?" Trowa grinned wolfishly as he and Quatre approached,

"Spying's a nasty habit" Quatre reprimanded "and… I had no idea he was that flexible!"

"Oh…" Trowa threw a sidelong glance at his boyfriend "We are definitely going to have to try that."

Sensing they were now off the hook, Relena- and more enthusiastically- Dorothy, rejoined their new co-conspirators in peeking through the window.

***

"That damn bitch!" Wufei grumbled as he trudged through the trees towards Duo's side of the island. "He's retired! And there's no way in hell that Duo will _ever_ take a job for her! He'd cut off his own foot first." As the angry Chinese man burst into the sunshine, he couldn't help but notice the suspicious quartet gathered underneath Duo's bedroom window. Onyx eyes narrowed as he marched around to the front door and knocked.

No answer.

Well, he'd tried to be polite. He stepped off the porch and made his way around the house to where Quatre, Trowa and the girls were all crouched.

"Just what exactly..." He started as he came around the corner

"Shhh!" four urgent voices hushed him

Wufei pushed forward, "just what exactly…" he froze as he glanced in the window.

Trowa watched with intense interest, Quatre with concern, as Wufei's face flushed beyond red and into an almost purple shade.

"**HAVE YOU BASTARDS NO DECENCY!?!"**

Inside, Heero and Duo froze,

"Did you just hear…" Heero started

"Wufei!?!" Duo swallowed as he and Heero peered over their shoulders.

Wufei stood framed in the window, red faced and shaking

"AND YOU TWO!" He bellowed, "CLOSE THE GODDAMN WINDOW!!"


	6. Chapter 6Final

"Oh fuck me…" Duo moaned, his head falling back to the rumpled mattress.

"I intend to." Heero growled as he disentangled himself from his lover and marched to the window. Wufei had turned his back, but his fists were still clenched and shaking and his ears maintained the brilliant crimson of his face.

Heero ignored him for the moment as he slid open the window and fixed the quartet crouching beneath the sill with a steely glare.

"Explain."

"Please don't!" Duo wailed from behind him, "I don't want to know how long you've all been there!"

Trowa snickered, Quatre's eyes widened in a panicked warning

"I'll give you ten seconds to retreat." Heero growled

The four beneath the window froze at the sound of a magazine being loaded into Heero's semi-automatic.

"Nine."

The snap of him chambering the cartridge

"Eight."

The click of the hammer being cocked

"Seven."

The soft *tic* of the safety flipping off

"Six."

The four beneath the window made a mad dash towards the front gate, Trowa chuckling as he went. Only Wufei remained, his back still turned.

"Why are you still here Wufei?"

"I have a message for you… both of you."

"From who?" Duo asked, picking his way across the room to come stand beside Heero.

"From Une."

"No." Heero said sharply,

"You haven't even heard…" Wufei turned around, then quickly glanced to the side as he remembered the unclothed state of his friends.

"I don't care." Heero said sharply, "I'm not going..." Duo's eyes widened slightly as Heero pulled him to his chest, "anywhere. Not anymore." He planted a kiss on the top of Duo's head.

"'Ro…"

"And should I assume that's a decline from you as well, Maxwell?"

"It sure as hell is!" Duo scoffed, "I'd cut off my own foot before working for that bitch!"

A grin split Wufei's face

"I told her you'd say that."

Duo chuckled,

"I'll keep the others down at the beach for now. Join us when you're ready, I've got more to talk to you about." Wufei turned to stride towards the corner of the house, "Oh and Yuy," he called back just before he vanished behind the wall, "Don't fuck up this time. Your moping when Duo kicks you out is exceptionally irksome."

"You moped?" Duo grinned, as Heero flipped the safety back on

"That is not the term I would have used."

"The stoic Heero Yuy _mopes_?!?"

"I… contemplated, the situation."

"You _moped_!"

Heero shook his head as he lowered and locked the window, then drew the blinds.

"Baka." He growled, tossing Duo none-too-gently to the bed.

The violet eyed pilot snickered.

"Moping Heero, I'd _pay_ to see that."

"I'd pay you to shut up now."

"Ha! Make me."

"Mission accepted." Heero grinned wolfishly, pinning the long haired pilot's arms above his head as his mouth closed over Duo's. Duo's violet eyes slid closed as he tilted his chin to allow Heero deeper entrance, all the while battling the welcome intruder with his tongue. Heero broke for just a moment, his cobalt eyes searching violet.

Duo's eyes widened slightly as he met Heero's, the rawness of Heero's tumbled emotions, his need, his lust, burned in the endless blue.

"'Ro?" his voice was barely a whisper, but it sparked something, and Heero's fiery gaze softened,

"There's just you." Heero said softly, his eyes fluttering closed for a moment, dark lashes resting against his cheeks, before fixing Duo once again "For me… there could only ever be you."

He lowered himself to Duo. Bodies thrummed as skin met skin, flesh moved inside flesh, their voices cried out feverishly in their fulfillment. Over and over again, till both collapsed, exhausted, beside one another.

Heero reached out, pulling Duo closer, cradling him against his chest.

"'Ro…" Duo whispered

"I'm not leaving." Heero growled

Duo chuckled tiredly, "I wasn't going to tell you to leave. But I think… I think maybe we should consider Une's offer. Maybe we _should_ rejoin the Preventers, you know, not all the time, but as contractors or mercenaries or something, do what we want, when we want. Just take special cases, that kind of thing."

"You know she'll only call us in for the missions most likely to get us killed."

Duo grinned 'Yeah, but that's what makes it interesting."

Heero chuckled,

"And," Duo added with a mischievous wink "I haven't blown anything up in a _long _time."

Heero laughed. "The other's are probably wondering where we are."

"Really? With that look they all got, I figured they'd pretty much _seen_ where we were."

Heero's eyes darkened, "Indeed."

"I've never seen Wufei's face turn that color before though?" Duo said thoughtfully, "Maybe we should flash him more often!"

"Negative." Heero growled, despite the laughter dancing in his eyes. Somehow it didn't feel right to bully the only comrade who hadn't "'betrayed'" them.

"We should get cleaned up and go find the others." Duo sighed, as he rolled out of bed "S'rude to leave them all out there."

"It not like any of them were actually invited." Heero growled, rising to follow him.

"If I recall correctly," Duo chuckled, "neither were you."

"I live here." Heero snorted "I don't need to be invited."

***

After they'd showered, dressed, and Heero'd re-braided Duo's hair for him, they stepped out onto the porch to find Mari waiting for them. The dog barked happily and pounced into Duo's lap knocking him to the porch as he squatted to greet her.

"Hey Mari-baby! Were you out here waiting for Daddy all this time!? What a good girl! Yes she is! Yes she is!" he laughed as he ruffled her ears, Heero knelt beside him, one arm curling around Duo's shoulders as the other stroked the young dog.

"Hey 'Ro?"

"Hn?"

"Does this… Are we… The three of us, are we a real family now?"

Heero froze, his mind whirling, all Duo's life…

His gang on L2, the Maxwell Church, the Gundam pilots…

Duo had spent his entire life looking for a home, for a family.

Heero smiled gently,

"Hai."

***

"Relena!" Dorothy huffed as she and the three Gundam pilots scurried up the sand after the irate blonde. "Why can't you just leave him alone!?"

"I've _been_ leaving him alone! We've been down at the beach for hours! I'm going to get a sunburn! I want something cool to drink, and I need to talk to Heero!"

"Doesn't look to me like he needs to talk to you." Wufei snapped

"Oh!" Quatre sighed, then jerked out his camera to snap a picture of the trio sitting together on the porch.

The shutters click broke the spell, with a bark Mari bounded down to greet them.

Heero stood, helping Duo to his feet. He never released the long-haired pilot's hand.

***1 year later***

Wufei stood at the altar with Sally Po, the four Gundam pilots stood beside him as groomsman. Relena sat between Dorothy and Millardo, her eyes fixed on Wufei's Best Man. She swallowed hard. _Were the rumors she'd been hearing on her way in true? Was Wufei REALLY the last of the Gundam pilots to get married?!_

Her brain whirled as the bridal party exited the small church and the guests and well-wishers began moving to large hall a few blocks away for the reception.

**

"C'mon Relena! Heero's giving his toast! We're gonna miss it!" Dorothy wailed into the bathroom where Relena was struggling to maintain her composure.

"Dammit I'm coming! Just give me a minute!" Relena snarled back, leaning into the mirror to touch up her mascara.

They scurried to their table in time for the first dance. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Duo lean in to whisper something to Heero, Heero smiled and nodded, then Duo turned to grin at Quatre beside him.

The DJ called for "all married couples to please join the newly-weds on the dance floor".

"Don't get up." Relena said softly as she watched Quatre and Trowa hop up and hurry towards the dance floor, "Don't get up." Duo scooted his chair back and stood with a grin, "Don't get up." But her prayers fell flat, as Duo turned and extended a hand to Heero, who took it as he stood and let himself be led to the floor.

Tears formed in the blondes eyes

"He… he… behind my back…"

"Don't feel too bad Relena." Zechs grinned, "They didn't invite me either. Rumor has it they skipped the wedding, just had a small civil ceremony with the other three pilots to witness."

"How… how long?"

"About a year or so I think."

"If you'll excuse me." Relena said stiffly, rising from the table and making her way in the direction of the door.

"Oh… shit. I better go after her." Dorothy groaned, jumping up to follow her friend.

"Oi!" Duo's loud voice called from the dance floor, freezing Relena just as Dorothy reached her, "Play something groovy! This waltz crap is killing me!"

The DJ raised an eyebrow, Wufei nodded an affirmative, and the song switched to an upbeat swing.

"Alright Heero, I got you on the floor, now impress me." Duo grinned

Heero returned his smile,

"Mission- accepted."

* * *

Ah! That's it! The End! My "one-shot" that wasn't! And know what the WORST part is... I've already started writing a sequel... I suck at this "short" stuff.

Anyway! Hope you all enjoyed this! Look for a continuation in "Landfall", unless you hated this, in which case "Why have you read this far? You could have stopped ages ago!"

For those of you that enjoyed it, or wrote funny/amusing or just very heartwarming reviews, I love you all! It's so nice to hear from you! And you people who don't review, well, I probably love you too, thanks for reading everyone!

-Chi


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